Bag folding and sealing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A SHAFT DRIVEN BY A SINGLE REVOLUTION CLUTCH OPERATES (A) A MECHANISM FOR FOLDING A CLOSURE FLAP AGAINST THE BODY OF A BAG (B) A MECHANISM FOR HEAT SEALING THE FLAP TO THE BAG, AND (C) A CONVEYING MECHANISM FOR EJECTING THE SEALED BAG FROM THE APPARATUS. A MOVABLE STOP ACTUATED BY THE SHAFT SERVES AS A GUIDE FOR PROPERLY LOCATING A BAG IN THE APPARATUS, AND THE STOP IS RETRACTED AFTER A FLAP IS FOLDED TO PERMIT EJECTION OF THE BAG BY THE CONVEYING MECHANISM. THE FLAP FOLDING MECHANISM INCLUDES A PIVOTED FLAP FOLDING PLATE WHICH HAS SPACED APART OPENINGS PERMITTING ACCESS OF A SERIES OF SIMILARLY SPACED APART HEAT SEALING ELEMENTS TO A FOLDED BUT UNSEALED FLAP.

y 1971 J. w. GLAZE. JR.. ETA!- 3,577,300

I BAG FOLDING AND SEALING APPARATUS 1 'Filed Dec; 1. 1969 A 3Sheets-Sheet 1 MICRO A SWITCH OFF ONE REVOLUTION V I CLUTCH J l FLAP610550 A P FOLDER OPEN J HEAT SEALS SEALER up "5" DOWN PACKAGE l lP A"WENTORS JoHNvAGLAzE JR. GU'DE WN L JOSEPHP. wo'nm EJECTING m mum- E mmmm; BY 9% ROLLER our or ENGAGEMENT wrrH ibeym PACKAGE I j ATTORNEYS y 7J. W. GLA ZE, JR.. ET/M-iv I 3,

BAQ FOLDING AND SEALING APPARATUS Filed necg g 1969 T s Sheets-SheetFICLZ May 4, 1971 J. w. GLAZE. JR.. ETAL 3,577,300.

A BAG FOLDING AND SEALING APPARATUS 7 Filed Dec. ,1, 1969 3 Sheets-Sheet s Uzi till? m! 1 v INVENTORS JOHN w GLAZE JR, 50 JOSEPH P. WORTH I8 Q 4' .'D2

. 59 62 moamzvs United States Patent Oflice 3,577,300 Patented May 4,1971 Int. Cl. B43m 5/04 US. Cl. 156-4415 20 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A shaft driven by a single revolution clutch operates (a) amechanism for folding a closure flap against the body of a bag, (b) amechanism for heat sealing the flap to the bag, and (c) a conveyingmechanism for ejecting the sealed bag from the apparatus. A movable stopactuated by the shaft serves as a guide for properly locating a bag inthe apparatus, and the stop is retracted after a flap is folded topermit ejection of the bag by the conveying mechanism.

The flap folding mechanism includes a pivoted flap folding plate whichhas spaced apart openings permitting access of a series of similarlyspaced apart heat sealing elements to a folded but unsealed flap.

This is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No.604,016, filed Dec. 22, 1966, entitled Hosiery Machine. The disclosureof the foregoing application is incorporated by reference herein, in itsentirety, with particular attention being directed to the flap foldingand sealing apparatus shown in FIGS. 28-33 thereof.

This invention is directed to apparatus for folding a closure flapportion of a bag against the body of the bag, and then sealing the flapto the bag, preferably by the use of heat which activates atemperature-responsive adhesive or autogenously bonds a thermoplasticflap to the body portion of the thermoplastic bag. The flap may be ofvarious types. For example, it may be a single thickness extension ofone face of the bag, or it may be formed by overfolding the entire endportion of a bag having coextensive faces.

In the past, it has frequently been the practice to fold the flap of abag manually and then seal the flap to the bag either with a hand-heldheating implement or by inserting the bag in a sealing machine. Somemachines have had the ability both to fold and to seal the flap;however, these prior machines have not used the unique and efiicientmanner of constructing and operating the various elements thereof, norhave they employed the particular type of folding plate and sealingelement which characterize the machines disclosed in this specificationand in the aforementioned copending application.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel pivoted flap foldingmember having spaced apart openings which cooperates with a heat sealinghead having spaced apart sealing elements so that the sealing elementswill extend through the openings in the flap folding member in order toeffect a satisfactory sea].

A further object of the invention is to simplify the construction ofclosure flap folding and sealing apparatus by using a common drive shaftto operate the flap folding and flap sealing means. Furthermore, thesame common drive means may operate a bag-ejecting conveyor and it mayoperate a guide member which initially positions the bag in theapparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and usefulmeans for ejecting sealed bags from the apparatus by employing aconveyor which rotates throughout the machine cycle yet is configured toengage a bag frictionally only after a flap is sealed to its associatedbag.

A movable guide means for initially positioning an unfolded and unsealedbag in the apparatus is retracted from its operative position to permita bag to be ejected by the apparatus. The conveyor and the guide meansare conveniently and preferably operated by the same shaft whichactuated the flap folding means and the flap sealing means.

Another object is to provide a novel combination which includes a flapfolding mechanism and a bag-guiding element, wherein the operation ofthe folding mechanism serves to move the bag against the bag guidingelement when there is an initial misalignment between the bag and theguiding element. This movement of the bag orients it properly for asubsequent bag sealing operation.

Other objects will be appreciated by those working in this art whobecome familiar with the machine disclosed in this specification.

One invention embodied in the disclosed apparatus involves theconstruction of the flap folding and sealing elements, wherein a pivotedflap folding member has a plurality of spaced apart openings. The sealerhead has a plurality of spaced apart sealing elements which pass throughthe openings in the flap folding member to seal the flap in positionwhile it is held by the flap folding member.

According to another aspect of the invention, the construction of a flapfolding and sealing apparatus is simplified by using a common driveshaft which operates a flap folding means and a sealing means. The flapfolding means is a pivoted plate which engages a flap and holds it inposition during the operation of the sealing means.

Another concept utilized in the disclosed apparatus pertains to themanner in which a conveyor operates to eject a bag from the folding andsealing station. The bag is frictionally engaged by a radially enlargedportion of a conveying roller which rotates throughout the machinecycle, including the time when the folding and sealing means are inoperation.

During the operation of the folding means, a bagpositioning guidecontacts the end of the bag which is remote from the flap so thatoperation of the folding means will move the bag to correct for smallmisalignment between the bag and the stop. Upon completion of thesealing step, the guide is retracted to permit the radially enlargedportion of the conveyor roller to eject a sealed bag from the apparatus.

Preferred forms of apparatus embodying some or all of these inventiveconcepts are disclosed in the aforementioned pending application Ser.No. 604,016 and in the accompanying drawings wherein FIG. 1 is aperspective view of the apparatus, enclosed in its housing, togetherwith a bag having an open and unsealed flap.

FIG. 1A shows the flap end of the bag of FIG. 1, with the flap foldedand sealed.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation, partially in section, showing some of theoperative elements of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a left side elevation of the apparatus with the housingremoved.

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line 4-4 in 'FIG. 2 and disclosing themechanism for operating the flap folding and sealing means.

FIG. 5 is a view of the cam mechanism for actuating the flap sealingmeans.

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 2, showing themechanism for moving the bag-positioning guide member.

FIG. 7 is a view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6, showing the detailsof construction of the flap folding member and the sealer backup member;and

FIG. 8 is a time diagram showing the sequential operation of theprincipal elements of the apparatus during one machine cycle.

The flap folding and sealing machine shown in FIG. 1 is constructed toreceive manually fed bags. The bags 2 may be formed by peripherallysealing a pair of face-toface thermoplastic sheets around the side andbottom edges, with the upper end of one sheet extending outwardly beyondthe upper edge of the other sheet, thereby creating the flap portion 4which is adapted to be folded along the fold line AA against the mainbody portion 6 of the bag.

The bag 2 preferably encloses a card-board insert or an article whichgives dimensional stability to the main body portion 6. It is manuallyplaced in the apparatus by inserting the upper portion of the bagbetween the converging guide lips 8 and placing the remainder of the bagon the supporting surface 10 at a position where the bottom edge of thebag will abut the bag-positioning guide plate 12. Inclined guidesurfaces 14 and 16 facilitate movement of the bag onto the supportingsurface 10.

Proper placement of the bag. on the surface 10 will close a microswitchhaving an exposed actuator 18 to initiate a cycle of the machine. Duringone machine cycle, the flap portion 4 is overfolded about the fold lineAA into facing relationship with the body of the bag as shown in FIG.1A. While held in this folded position, the flap 4 is sealed to the bodyof the bag at a series of spacedapart spots such as those designated 32in FIG. 1A. Upon completion of the sealing step, the stop member 12 isautomatically lowered to expose the bottom edge of the bag and the bagis ejected from the apparatus by the ejecting conveyor roller 22. Acontrol panel 24 on the apparatus includes an on-olf switch 26, anindicator light 28 which is illuminated when the switch 26 is closed,and a thermostatic regulator knob 30 for the sealing head.

The flap folding mechanism is seen in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7. The portions ofthis mechanism which operate upon the bag are the folder backup plate 47and the flap folding member 49, both of which are best shown in FIG. 7.The backup plate 47 is stationary and forms a portion of thebag-supporting surface. The flap folding plate 49 is pivotally movablethrough an arc of 180 about the pivot axis defined by the pivot pins 50and 52 which are located at its opposite ends.

The flap folding member 49 is oriented in the position shown in FIGS. 4,6 and 7 when a bag is placed in the apparatus. The bag is positioned bythe guide member 12 so that its flap will lie on the plate and the pivotaxis of the flap folding member 49 will be parallel and proximate to theintended fold line of the bag. Folding takes place by movement of theflap folding member 49 through an arc of approximately 180 to bring itinto parallel facing relation to the backup plate 47, with the foldedflap and a portion of the bag body located between the elements 47 and49.

While the flap is held in its folded position by the member 49, a sealerhead 56 is moved downwardly into contact with the flap, in order to sealthe flap to the body portion of the bag. As shown in FIG. 2, the sealerhead 56 has a series of depending sealing elements 58 adapted to performthe sealing operation. The sealing elements '58 are spaced apart andlocated where they will pass through the openings 54 in the flap foldingmember 49. Preferably, the sealer head 56 includes a single heatingelement extending longitudinally therewithin to generate the heatnecessary to activate a heatsensitive adhesive or to soften the plasticof a bag for autogenous bonding.

Upon completion of the sealing step, the sealer head 56 is movedupwardly to its inoperative or retracted position and flap foldingmember 49 is returned to the position shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7. Thebag-positioning guide 12 is retracted to the position shown in brokenlines in FIG. 6, thereby permitting discharge of the bag by the radiallyenlarged area of conveyor roller 22.

The preferred construction of the elements which operate the flap folderand sealing head are shown in 4 FIGS. 2-7. All of these elements areoperated by a common source of motive power connected to a common driveshaft. The source of power is the electric motor 34 which is turned onand off by the switch 26. As shown in FIG. 3, the motor 34 carries anoutput sprocket 36 connected by a chain 38 to a sprocket 40 which isconnected to a shaft 44. The motor 34 operates 'whenever the switch 26is closed to provide continuous rotation of the sprockets 36 and 40 andthe shaft 44.

As will be seen from FIG. 2, the shaft 42 drives a single revolutionclutch 46 which may be of any known type. The output shaft 48 from thesingle revolution clutch 46 carries cams which operate the flap folder,flap sealer and bag guide elements. The shaft 48 also directly drivesthe ejecting conveyor roller 22.

The single revolution clutch 46 is normally disengaged so the machineperforms no folding or sealing functions. However, when the side edge ofa bag is pressed against the switch actuator 18 shown in FIG. 1, theclutch 46 engages to rotate the shaft 48 only one revolution. Uponcompletion of one revolution, the clutch 46 automtaically disengages andremains in this condition until the microswitch actuator 18 is againdepressed.

As seen in FIG. 4, the flap folder 49 is moved through its arcuate pathby rotation of a spur gear 57 which meshes with a larger spur gear 59.Gear 57 is keyed to the shaft 50 which, in turn, is rigidly connected tothe flap folder member 49.

Rotation of the spur gear 59 is initiated by axial movement of thefolder actuating rod 62 which has one end pivotally connected to afastener 64 on the gear 59, and its other end pivotally connected at 68to the lever arm 70. The rod 62 has an adjustable length in order topermit fine adjustments in the operation of the apparatus.

The movement of the folder lever arm 70 is produced by rotation of themain drive shaft 48 which carries the folder actuating cam 72 shown inFIG. 5. The lever arm 70 is pivoted about a rod 76 and it carries arotatable cam follower 74. A spring maintains the cam follower againstthe cam. As the shaft 48 rotates, the cam follower 74 moves from thecircular surface 78 onto the inclined surface 80 which swings the leverarm 70 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4. This movesthe rod 62 to the right, rotates the gear 59 in a counterclockwisedirection, and rotates the gear 57 in a clockwise direction to move theflap folder 49 about its pivot axis in a clockwise direction. When thecam follower 74 rides along the enlarged circular surface 82 on the cam72, the flap folder will dwell in its folding position where it facesthe backup plate 47. During this dwell interval, the flap is sealed tothe bag body. Upon completion of the sealing step, continued rotation ofthe cam 72 results in movement of the cam follower on the downhillsurface 84 of the cam to return the flap holder member 49 to theposition shown in FIG. 4.

The sealer head 56 is supported by rods 86 and brackets 88 which areconnected to a pivot rod 90. Also connected to the pivot rod is a lever92. The pivot rod 90 is pivotally mounted in a stationary extension 94so that movement of the lever 92 will result in swinging move ment ofthe sealer head 56 about the axis of the pivot rod 90. This swingingmovement is created by axial movement of the sealer actuating rod 96which has its opposite ends pivotally connected to a fastener 98 on thelever 92 and to a pivot member 100 aifixed to the sealer actuating lever102. The sealer actuating lever 102, like the folder actuating lever 70,is pivotally mounted on the stationary rod 76.

As shown in FIG. 5, the sealer actuating lever 102 is biased by a spring104 for movement in a clockwise direction. A roller cam follower 106 onlever 102 rides on the sealer cam 108 to limit this clockwise movement.As the cam follower 106 rides on the circular portion 110 of the cam108, there is no movement of the sealer actuating rod 96 and it remainsin its elevated position.

However, during the time period when the flap folder dwells in theposition where it holds the flap in a folded condition, the cam follower106 arrives at the depressed face 112 of the cam 108. This producesclockwise movement of the sealer actuating lever 102 and clockwisemovement of the elements 86, 88, 92 and the sealer head 56. This movesthe sealer head 56 downwardly so that its sealing elements 58 will passthrough the openings 54 in the flap folding plate 49, thereby sealingthe flap to the bag in the areas shown at 32 in FIG. 1A and in brokenlines in FIG. 7.

As previously mentioned, the sealed bag is ejected from the apparatus bythe ejecting conveyor roller 22 which is affixed to the main drive shaft48 for rotation therewith. The configuration of this roller is best seenin the broken line representation thereof in FIG. 6. It has anexaggerated radius in the area which will be uppermost upon completionof the sealing step. This will cause the roller 22 to project above thebag supporting surface after the sealing step, enabling it tofrictionally engage with the bag and eject it from the apparatus. Inorder to ensure proper alignment of the bag in the apparatus for thesealing step, the bag guide 12 projects above the surface 10 during thefolding and sealing operations. If there is a slight initialmisalignment between the bottom edge of the bag and the stop 12, theoperation of the folding member 49 will displace the bag into its properposition against the stop 12. However, upon completion of the sealingoperation, the guide 12 is dropped by the mechanism shown in FIG. 6 tothe position shown in broken lines in FIG. 6. The stop 12 is supportedon a rod 114 which is connected to a lever 116. The lever 116 ispivotally mounted about the previously mentioned rod 76, and it carriesa cam-following roller 118 which rides along the face of theguide-operating cam 120. During the folding and sealing operations, thecam roller 118 rides along the enlarged surface 122 of the cam so theguide 12 remains in the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 6.However, upon completion of the sealing step, the cam follower movesdownwardly along the surface 124 and onto the reduced radius surface 126of the cam 120. When the roller 118 is on the surface 126, the bag guide12 will move to the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 6 where itrests against a rubber bumper 128. With the guide 12 in its loweredposition, the ejecting roller 22 will be capable of conveying the sealedbag from the apparatus.

The bag stop 12 is attached to the rod 114 'by a setscrew 115. When bagshaving different dimensions are used in the apparatus, the setscrew 115may be released and the bag stop 12 axially adjusted along the rod 114to the appropriate position.

The sequence of operation of this apparatus may be visualized byreferring to the time sequence diagram of FIG. 8. At all times, themotor 34 is running to drive the input sprocket 40 on the singlerevolution clutch 46. When an operator places a bag in the apparatuswhere it lies on the support surface 10 and closes the microswitch 18,the single revolution clutch 46 is engaged to initiate one revolution ofthe main drive shaft 48. Initially the revolution of the shaft 48 willmove the flap folding member 49 through an arc of approximately 180 tofold the flap against the body of the bag. The flap folder 49 is heldover the folded flap in the bag as the sealer head 56 is moveddownwardly to pass between the openings 54 in the folder member and sealthe bag at the locations designated 32 in FIGS. 1A and 7. The sealerhead is raised to its retracted position and the folder member 49returns to its FIG. 7 position. While this is taking place, the packagestop 12 is lowered and the radially enlarged portion of the bag ejectingconveyor 22 engages the undersurface of the bag to discharge it from theapparatus.

From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated vention representa forward step in the field of folding and sealing bags. The inventivefeatures thereof, as set forth in the following claims, are of coursecapable of inclusion in numerous other types of bag folding and sealingmachines.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for folding a flap portion of a bag along a fold line andthen sealing the flap portion to the body portion of the bag,comprising,

means for supporting the bag in a given position, said supporting meansincluding a sealer backup member located on one side of the fold line, aflap folding member located on the other side of the fold line having aflap-confronting face which lies against a flap portion of the bag whenthe bag is in said given position, said flap folding member having aplurality of spaced apart openings and being pivoted about an axis whichlies parallel and proximate to said fold line,

means for moving said flap folding member about its pivot axis from aninitial position where its flap-confronting face is spaced from saidsealer backup member to a flap holding position where it is in parallelface-to-face relation to said sealer backup member to hold an overfoldedflap against the body portion of a bag,

a sealer head having a plurality of spaced apart sealing elements, meansfor moving said sealer head from a retracted position to an operativeposition where said sealing elements extend through the openings in saidflap folding member to seal the flap -to the body portion of the bag.

2. Apparatus accord-ing to claim 1 for sealing bags by the applicationof heat wherein said sealer head includes means for heating said sealingelements.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 having an open passage permittingmovement of a bag into the apparatus in a direction parallel to thepivot axis of the flap folding member.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 having converging guide means leadingtoward said flap folding member and said sealer backup member tofacilitate introduction of a bag into the apparatus in a directionparallel to the pivot axis of the flap folding member.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 having conveyor means for ejecting abag from the apparatus.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the conveyor means moves asealed bag in a direction perpendicular to the pivot axis of the flapfolding member.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means for moving said flapfolding member about its pivot axis includes a driven spur gearconnected to the flap folding member for rotational movement therewith,a driving spur gear engaged with the said driven spur gear, a connectingrod pivotally attached to said driving spur gear, and cam means foraxially moving said rod to produce rotational movement of said drivingspur gear.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1 having a rotatable drive shaft whichcarries a first cam means for actuating the means for moving said flapfolding member and a second cam means for actuating the means for movingsaid sealer head.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 having a bag ejecting conveyorconnected to said drive shaft and constructed to eject a bag from theapparatus upon movement of the sealer head from its operative position.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the bag ejecting conveyor isa roller, said drive shaft being connected to and rotatable with saidroller, said roller having a radially enlarged area for frictionallycontacting a bag only after movement of the sealer head to its operativeposition.

:11. Apparatus for folding a flap portion of a bag along a fold line andthen sealing the flap portion to the body of that the disclosed andpreferred embodiments of the ina bag, comprising,

bag supporting means having an aperture,

flap folding means for folding a flap against the body portion of thebag, sealing means for sealing a flap folded by said flap folding meansto the body portion of a bag,

conveying means for ejecting a sealed bag from the apparatus uponcompletion of the operation of said sealing means,

said conveying means having a conveying roller aligned with the aperturein the bag supporting means, means for rotating said conveying rollerduring and after the operation of said flap folding means and saidsealing means, said conveying roller having an area of reduced radiusfacing said aperture and lying below the bag supporting means duringoperation of said flap folding means and said sealing means and an areaof enlarged radius which will project upwardly through the apertureafter operation of the sealing means to frictionally engage a sealed bagand eject it from the apparatus.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11 having a drive motor for saidconveying roller, and a single revolution clutch having its input endconnected to said drive motor and its output end connected to androtatable at a same angular velocity with said drive motor and saidconveying roller.

13. Apparatus according to claim 11 having a common drive shaftoperatively connected to said flap folding means, said sealing means andsaid conveying means.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13 having a continuously operatingdrive motor and a single revolution clutch interposed in the drive trainfrom the drive motor to the common drive shaft.

15. Apparatus according to claim 14 having means for actuating saidsingle revolution clutch in response to placement of an unsealed bag inthe apparatus.

16. Apparatus for folding a flap portion of a bag along a fold line andthen sealing the flap portion to the body of a bag, comprising,

means providing a bag supporting surface,

flap folding means for folding a flap along a fold line against the bodyof the bag,

sealing means for sealing a flap folded by said flap folding means tothe body of a bag,

bag-positioning guide means having an operative position where itintersects and extends above the plane of the bag supporting surface forinitially establishing the position of an unsealed bag in the apparatusby contacting the bag at its end remote from the flap portion, and meansfor retracting said guide means from the plane of said bag supportingsurface after the operation of said flap folding means to permit removalof a sealed bag parallel to said bag supporting surface and in thedirection of said guide means.

17. Apparatus according to claim 16 having means operative afterretraction of the guide means for conveying a sealed bag parallel tosaid bag supporting surface and in the direction of the operativeposition of said guide means after operation of said sealing means.

18. Apparatus according to claim 16 wherein the flap folding means foldsthe flap in a direction toward the guide means; whereby the operation ofthe flap folding means will urge the bag against the guide means tocorrect for initial misalignment between the bag and the guide means.

19. Apparatus for folding a flap portion of a bag along a fold line andthen sealing the flap portion to the body of a bag, comprising,

flap folding means for folding a flap against the body portion of thebag,

Sealing means for sealing a flap folded by said flap folding means tothe body portion of a bag,

drive means including a common drive shaft for moving said flap foldingmeans and said sealing means a conveyor roller means connected to androtatable with the common drive shaft, said conveyor roller beingoperative to eject a sealed bag from the apparatus after operation ofsaid sealing means,

guide means for positioning an unsealed bag in the apparatus bycontacting the bag at its end remote from the flap portion, and

means operable by said common drive shaft for retracting said guidemeans to an inoperative position after the operation of said flapfolding means.

20. Apparatus for folding a flap portion of the bag along a fold lineand then sealing the flap portion to the body of a bag, comprising,

flap folding means for folding a flap against the body portion of thebag,

sealing means for sealing a flap folded by said flap folding means tothe body portion of a bag,

drive means including a common drive shaft for moving said flap foldingmeans and said sealing means, and

a conveyor roller means connected to and rotatable with the common driveshaft, said conveyor roller being operative to eject a sealed bag fromthe apparatus after operation of said sealing means, said conveyorroller having a radially enlarged area oriented to frictionally contacta bag only after operation of said sealing means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,153,325 9/1915 McDade 156-4421,708,534 4/1929 Christman, Jr 2706l 2,158,144 5/1939 Oskow 27061FOREIGN PATENTS 251,547 11/1911 Germany 156-4415 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT,Primary Examiner G. E. MONTONE, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

